Traverse City Record-Eagle

Claire Walters

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May 4, 2009

Claire Walters: Commonly asked questions

Marathon training raises quite a few questions from those unfamiliar with the process; I should know, I peppered marathoner friends and family with dozens of queries before signing up.

Now I'm the one undergoing the third degree. Some questions arise more frequently than others:

What has been most difficult about training?

Initially it was the -- at the time -- crushing disappointment associated with any setbacks, including the various aches and pains I experienced at the outset of my training program.

The ability to take these setbacks in stride is a difficult skill to learn, but one that was necessary to be able to continue with my training.

At this point, fatigue is my biggest problem. Eleven hours of sleep feel like too few; my sadly monotonous life currently consists solely of running, eating, working, eating, sleeping and eating.

Exhaustion also can make it difficult to find the motivation to get in all of a week's requisite miles.

However, the close proximity of the race is making motivation less of a factor; I'm cruising on pure adrenaline.

How has your body held up?

When I began training in January, I almost immediately was confronted with some serious knee pain. Family members, friends and readers advised me to set my sights a little lower to something a little less ambitious -- a half-marathon, perhaps. I didn't consider that a viable option at the time, and decided to persevere.

I'm glad I did.

It turns out that not every little twinge is a complete crisis situation mandating a full-scale panic attack, although it can feel that way at the time.

I've definitely been experiencing some additional soreness the more miles I add, but it hasn't been anything to keep me from completing my runs. I guess you just get used to it.

How much weight have you lost?

In a word, none.

While I've definitely gained quite a bit of muscle -- my legs are fast approaching tree-trunk territory -- my weight only has fluctuated a couple pounds.

So much for my dreams of a marathon-induced six pack.

Running often is touted as one of the best activities available for weight loss. According to Dagny Scott Barrios' Complete Book of Women's Running, running burns an average of 100 calories a mile, a figure that adds up quickly when you're tackling double-digit mileages.

What I'm having trouble accepting is Barrios' contention that running tends to help moderate the appetite.

Alas, this has not been the case for me; I'm eating constantly, including multiple weekly trips to the office vending machine for snacks and a few late-night ice cream expeditions.

All of those miles require a lot of extra fuel.

Consequently, marathon training hasn't been a magic weight loss plan for me, though I didn't set out with that goal in mind. My primary goal was, and is, to finish the race in once piece.

Are you crazy?

The more miles I put in, the more often I ponder this one myself.

Because, honestly, you have to be a little nuts to subject your body to what amounts to near-constant punishment, right?

And sometimes, such as the final run of an excruciatingly long week, it really does feel like a punishment of sorts.

My only defense is that I love running and all of the physical and mental benefits it provides me. And, in the immortal words of Nazareth, love hurts.

Has it been worth it?

I can't answer this one definitively until after the race, but there's something to be said for the training portion of this endeavor.

Before I began the program, I assumed the only admirable end was the race and the training was just a means to that end. However, I'm coming to realize that the training itself is something to take stock of and enjoy.

As a follow-up to this question, friends have asked whether they can handle a marathon.

If I, formerly world's laziest person, can get this far in my training, I'm firmly convinced that nearly anyone can do the same, even if it takes a year or two to prepare.

So a question of my own, directed at friends, family and you -- will I see you at the Detroit Marathon on Oct. 18?

Record-Eagle copy editor and first-time marathon runner Claire Walters is chronicling her training experiences in a bi-weekly column as she prepares for the May 23 Bayshore Marathon. Readers also can follow her progress by reading her blog at blogs.record-eagle.com. The blog contains her training schedule and log, and she invites advice and comments from other runners.

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    Claire Walters: Moment I'll never forget

    I officially can call myself a marathoner. I worked diligently and consistently during the past five months to earn that distinction. Those five months of intense training culminated Saturday in the Bayshore Marathon, and included countless hours spent running, thinking about running and planning my social life around running.

    Continued ...
    May 23, 2009 10:05 pm 1 Photo
  • Claire Walters: Anxiety hits in final week
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    Going into marathon training in early January, I foresaw this week " the week before the race " a lot of ways. What I couldn't have foreseen at the time, of course, was the uncertainty and anxiety I now would be experiencing because of a painful case of shin splints that struck just before a big 20-mile training run two weeks ago.

    Continued ...
    May 16, 2009 10:15 pm 1 Photo
  • Claire Walters: Crunch time for training
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    Five weeks before the marathon, essentially the equivalent of running final exams, wouldn't be my first choice for travel, mainly because all of the distractions that make keeping up with a training regimen difficult. Nevertheless, I'm spending this week in northeast Ohio, visiting my parents, brother and sister, who made the trip from Asheville, N.C.

    Continued ...
    Apr 18, 2009 9:49 pm 1 Photo
  • Claire Walters: Running with 'The Grunge'
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    Some things are inevitable during winter in northern Michigan. There is the seemingly continuous snowfall. And the months-long, sometimes unbearable cabin fever. Then there's what we in the newsroom affectionately refer to as "The Grunge," a blanket term used to describe the multitude of undesirable cold- and flu-like symptoms that practically are preordained in this climate.

    Continued ...
    Updated Mar 23, 2009 6:50 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, March 7, 2009
  • Claire Walters: Gel provides GUd boost
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    Rome wasn't built in a day. It's one of those pithy sayings we're taught from childhood to illustrate that hard work and dedication are necessary to achieve anything worthwhile. It's something I've been keeping in mind a lot lately, as I progress toward the Bayshore Marathon. Unlike the path at one of my favorite running haunts, the GT Civic Center, the road network of the Roman Empire likely was pretty difficult to navigate.

    Continued ...
    Updated Mar 8, 2009 10:30 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, February 21, 2009
  • Claire Walters: List of must-have running gear
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    The myriad of products marketed to runners has got me wondering: Which are essential and which are the runners' equivalent of a Snuggie (oddly intriguing, but ultimately useless)? The first, most obvious running must-have is a great pair of shoes. Before seriously getting into running, I based my running shoe purchases on two main attributes: style and price.

    Continued ...
    Updated Feb 22, 2009 10:17 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, February 7, 2009
  • Claire Walters: Running not for the weary
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    I have always been almost lethally uncoordinated. Some have even said klutzy. As a would-be student athlete, I had much more enthusiasm than actual talent. After an assortment of unfortunate incidents, including a sprained ankle during a casual game of basketball and a black eye (not mine) during a Junior High volleyball match, my parents suggested I give the track team a try, reasoning that I would be highly unlikely to injure myself -- or anyone else -- while jogging a few laps on a level surface.

    Continued ...
    Updated Feb 8, 2009 9:52 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, January 24, 2009
  • Claire Walters: Woes of winter running
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    Let's face it: All but the most hard-core of runners in northern Michigan, with its notoriously snowy six-month winter, likely will spend a few runs indoors. Though the treadmill can provide a welcome respite from the lung-burning cold, it presents a choice: The inevitable boredom of a monotonous run versus the bitter winds, knee-deep snow and slippery sidewalks of the outdoors.

    Continued ...
    Updated Jan 25, 2009 9:41 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, January 10, 2009
  • Claire Walters: Guess who's a runner after all
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    I never have considered myself an athlete. In fact, I used to think the dreaded couch potato gene was explicitly written into my genetic code. So I recently surprised even myself when I decided to register for the 2009 Bayshore Marathon and to write this column detailing my training.

    Continued ...
    Updated Jan 11, 2009 9:40 am 1 Photo